


pass your fingers through my hair and call me child

by TheEdgyPotato



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: A Leitner Made Them Do It (The Magnus Archives), Age Play, Age Regression/De-Aging, Angst, Caregiver, Crying, Leitner Books (The Magnus Archives), Little, No Smut, Non-Sexual Age Play, Self-Indulgent, age play tag is only there so people who don't know the difference can find this, btw the agere stuff doesn't start until a couple chapters in i had to set up everything first, but he's like 95 percent less competent than he is in canon, by 'do it' I mean turn jon into babey to give him the hugs he deserves, elias is unfortunately here, his 'murder attempts' are hilariously bad, i didn't actually realise how angsty the start of this was oops--, i'm so sorry my tags are incoherent, oh god so much crying smol jon has many tears, the magnus archives is a workplace comedy, there's loads of fluff to make up for it later though!!, this is literally a shameless excuse to write little!jon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-10
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:22:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27981474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheEdgyPotato/pseuds/TheEdgyPotato
Summary: 'Jon was, as the kids say, straight-up not having a good time right now.The day had started out well enough, he supposed. Okay, no, that was a complete lie; the started out completely crap.First of all was the fact that he tripped and fell in the front door, in front of literally everyone and making a total fool of himself. Then was the headache that came half an hour later (which definitely had nothing to do with the fact that he’d only had an hour’s sleep last night). And then, the final piece of the puzzle, the cherry on the cake: he’d just read a Leitner.'---Jon accidentally reads a Leitner, and begins to notice some strange side effects. The Archives crew realise something's up, and take it upon themselves to figure out what it is.Alternatively: a shameless excuse to write little!Jon with the archives staff as his caregivers. This is entirely self-indulgent, so expect fluff and general adorable shenanigans. This is entirely sfw, the age play tag is only there so people who don't know the difference can find this fic.
Comments: 48
Kudos: 148





	1. offer up your innocence (please ignore the side effects)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fic title adapted from 'The Horror and the Wild' by The Amazing Devil.  
> Chapter title from 'Black Box Warrior (OKULTRA)' by Will Wood.
> 
> Jon accidentally reads a Leitner and represses his emotions, as he is prone to doing. Elias schemes in his office, because he is an evil bastard. Everything is set into motion...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So uuuuhhhh. Hey there. Welcome to my first ever published TMA fic. This started as a short one-shot type of thing and then I got too invested in the idea and now we're here. Currently have around 4000 words written but I'm not publishing it all at once because my writing schedule is a tad squiffy (aka nonexistent) and I need some chapters to publish in case I don't write for a while y'know?
> 
> I'm so sorry if this is an incoherent mess and also wildly out of character, I haven't actually listened to TMA for months I've just been reading fanfics to cope with the ever-looming threat of the podcast ending :) i'm fine i swear
> 
> on that note, have fun reading!

Jon was, as the kids say, straight-up not having a good time right now.

The day had started out well enough, he supposed. Okay, no, that was a complete lie; the day started out absolutely crap.

First of all was the fact that he tripped and fell in the front door, in front of _literally_ everyone and making a total fool of himself. Then was the headache that came half an hour later (which definitely had _nothing_ to do with the fact that he’d only had an hour’s sleep last night). And then, the final piece of the puzzle, the cherry on the cake: he’d just read a Leitner.

He hadn’t meant to, of course. He’d been rifling through an old box in search of a statement, and buried right at the bottom was a dusty leaflet. It had seemed so out of place compared to the other contents of the box - it was printed with bright pastel colours and cartoon characters with goofy smiles staring blankly from the front cover, a stark contrast to the faded yellows of the other documents. The title was something in another language - Japanese, maybe? Curiously, he had pulled it out, wondering what something so childish was doing in the Archives.

Now, if he had actually had his wits about him, he would’ve checked straight away to see whether it was a Leitner or not. Unfortunately, his sleep-addled, aching head decided to skip past that part, and he had instead flicked through the pages to see what was inside.

It was in the same language as the title, unsurprisingly, but there were some diagrams that he could glean meaning from. It seemed to be some sort of how-to manual for new parents - the pictures showed things like pacifiers, toys and cribs, nothing particularly of interest.

Jon only realised his mistake after flipping back to the front to see if he could find the author’s name. There, stamped in bold red, were the words anyone at the Institute dreaded seeing: ‘From the Library of Jurgen Leitner.’

He had, understandably, panicked.

He had also let out a (dignified!) shriek, flinging the leaflet away and managing to fall off his chair in the process. That was where he was now, sprawled out on the floor, fearful for his life and in complete and utter pain.

Tim then decided to make his appearance known in the most loud and obnoxious way possible, kicking the door open ‘heroically’ and putting his hands on his hips.

“Fear not, bossman, because I am here!”

Apparently noticing the fact that Jon was not currently in his chair, Tim peered over the desk, raising an eyebrow curiously at the sight of Jon on the floor.

“You good down there? We heard screaming, thought you’d died or something.”

Jon shielded his face with his hands, mumbling out some half-assed excuse about seeing a spider, then promptly shooed Tim away with one hand. The other man seemed reluctant to leave, hovering for a moment before Jon uncovered his face to glare at him.  
  
"Ah, there you are. Try not to fall again, alright?" Tim said with a grin, saluting dramatically before sauntering away.  
  
Jon waited for the door to click shut before releasing the breath he hadn't realised he was holding.  
  
_What now?_  
  
Although he'd just read a Leitner, he wasn't dead yet. That didn't fill him with much hope, though - there had been plenty of statements where the effects didn't show until hours or even days after reading the book.  
  
It was just a matter of time.  
  
But should he tell the other staff?  
  
I mean, it wasn't like they'd miss him. He knew he was grouchy and unlikeable, and wasn't really close with his assistants. Plus, the book's effects might not take place for a couple days - it was Thursday today, meaning he might be able to make it to the weekend. At least if he was going to die, nobody would have to clean up his corpse in the Archives.  
  
...That was a rather morbid thought. But strangely, he wasn't scared. His brain had a tendency of panicking at first then being completely calm until the last moment, meaning he never worried until the problem was about to hit him head-on like an oncoming train.  
  
He may have also been repressing his emotions a little bit (read: a lot), but there's not enough time to unpack all of that.  
  
The wise thing, he mused, would be to continue his work until he was unable to. Okay, so, maybe it wasn't particularly wise, but it was the only thing he could think of and his brain was still hurting, leave him alone. And so that was what Jon set out to do, wholly unaware of the thick, unnerving sensation of being watched.

* * *

Up in his office, Elias scowled with immense displeasure. This had certainly thrown a wrench in his plans. Those damn books, always ruining everything - the effects of this particular Leitner, he knew, were apparently irreversible, and within a matter of days his Archivist would go from a perfect pawn to a useless waste of space.  
  
A shame, really. He'd been looking forward to making sure Jon was prepared for his lovely little ritual, and he was already marked by the web, too...  
  
No matter. He could always find himself a new little plaything.  
  
And with that, Elias began creating an idea for Jon to go 'missing'…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please tell me if there are any grammar mistakes/plotholes/general areas for improvement!! i want this fic to be the best i can possibly make it uwu


	2. once you go hazy you'll understand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jon begins to feel the effects of the Leitner. Emotions are let out in a healthy way, for once. And Jon's mind finally slips...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title from 'Soft Fuzzy Man' by Lemon Demon.
> 
> heyyyy hello again! I am here to bring you more little!Jon content even though it technically doesn't happen in this chapter. next one is though I promise :)
> 
> also: quick content warning for secondhand embarrassment, Jon says and does something that he thinks is weird and is embarrassed by it, it's nothing too major but i thought I'd give a heads up just in case. please let me know if I need to tag anything else as well!!
> 
> anyways, enjoy!

Jon didn’t sleep much the next night. Not that he was particularly worried, thanks his his weird, fucked-up brain, but it was still unusual. He hadn’t slept so little since university, and it was clear the next day that the whole archives team knew something was up.

Martin had been particularly fussy, hovering over him whenever he came by with tea for unnecessary amounts of time. Being fretted over like this was getting rather annoying ~~though secretly he was a little bit pleased he was being taken care of.~~

The rest of the day seemed to drag on forever, every hour feeling like a lifetime. His productivity was at an all time low, hands moving sluggishly and brain feeling like sludge. Or porridge. Or soup. Ooh, he could really do with some soup right now… what was he talking about?

With a sigh, Jon laid his head down on his folded arms. Everything seemed so stressful nowadays; the amount of work he had was always increasing, his social life was literally nonexistent and he hardly had time to relax - not to mention the fact that he could quite possibly die within the next few days.

Why did everything have to be so damn difficult?

Why did he feel as though he were about to start wailing like a toddler?

He rapidly blinked away the tears that formed in his eyes, then squeezed them shut again. His throat felt tight, each breath more ragged than the last, and his chest began to ache with the pressure.

Jon clamped his teeth down on a knuckle to keep himself from crying out, silent sobs racking his body as all the built-up emotions came flooding out. He couldn't remember the last time he'd cried like this, the last time he'd let out his feelings in a healthy way.

How long he stayed like that, Jon wasn't sure. At some point he must've drifted off to sleep - thank god - because the next thing he remembered was being gently shaken awake by a concerned Martin.

"Huh?" he mumbled as he looked up, still half asleep and slightly muffled by the knuckle in his mouth.

Martin's eyes went all soft and gooey, like usual, and he let out a squeak of - surprise? Embarrassment? Whatever, Jon was still too tired for much thinking.

"It's- it's six o' clock, Jon," Martin stammered out eventually, face going red. Kinda sweet, to be honest.

Jon merely hummed in agreement, chewing gently on his knuckle and blinking slowly. Then he seemed to realise what he was doing, suddenly awake as he hastily wiped his hand on his shirt and stood up.

"Ah, yes, thank you Martin. I suppose I must have lost track of the time. I'll be going now, cheery-o!" he babbled, slightly embarrassed from the awkward situation.

He grabbed his coat in a hurry and sped out of the archives, leaving a rather flabbergasted Martin behind him.

"Cheery-o? Who the hell says that?" he muttered to himself, hardly noticing his surroundings on the familiar walk to his apartment. It wasn't long before he was back home, the bare walls greeting him blankly and his miserable bedroom looking as pitiful as ever.

His body went through the familiar motions of getting ready for bed, working on autopilot while his mind cringed from that awful last conversation. He didn't even know what had come over him. Regardless, he elected to ignore the whole mini-breakdown-thing, instead forcing his mind to think of all the work he could get done over the weekend.

Yay.

He collapsed face first into his bed, still feeling drained despite his brief rest earlier, and immediately sank into a deep, dreamless and, for once, peaceful sleep.

* * *

Jon’s weekend passed by in a miserable blur. He could hardly force himself out of bed, limbs feeling heavy and mind feeling trapped within the confines of his home. But there was still so much work to do, and he spent every moment hunched over his coffee table, digitizing as many statements as he could in the moments between his mind slipping.

‘Slipping’ was the best way he could describe it. Every now and again it felt as though his mind switched off, in a way, and the shadows seemed so much more terrifying, and everything looked so much bigger, and everything all at once was an unfamiliar and terrifying world.

Logically, he knew it was the Leitner’s doing - yet still his mind refused to accept it, grasping desperately for anything else to blame (to be fair, maybe the lack of sleep wasn’t helping much).

But surprisingly, he wasn’t dead by Monday, and he made the short trip to the archives that day relatively fine. Okay, so maybe he was trembling like a leaf and barely able to keep his bloodshot eyes open, pupils darting around nervously and steps shaky, but otherwise he was fine.

...Oh, who was he kidding? Jon was not okay.

He holed himself up in his office, dodging any attempts made from his assistants at conversation and refusing to leave the room. With every moment, his head pounded more and more, pressure behind his eyes building, until it felt as though he was drowning, struggling to stay in control of his own body.

The documents sprawled out on the desk in front of him had lain untouched for hours. He stared at them blankly, trying to muster up some ounce of energy to sort them out, do something useful, but it was no use - his mind felt almost empty.

At one point, he must’ve fallen asleep again, because he opened his eyes to see a mug of tea left on his desk and a blanket draped around his shoulders. The brief rest must’ve done him some good, since he was finally able to lift his arms enough to rest them on the desk.

One step at a time.

Slowly, Jon reached out for the mug, focusing solely on this single, insignificant task. He finally gripped the handle, then began the slow and agonising process of bringing it up to his mouth. It was a futile attempt, though. The mug slipped from his hands, seeming to fall in slow motion and clattering down against the desk with a dull thud. Tea splashed out everywhere, and for Jon, it was the final straw.

It was like a dam had burst in his mind.

The sob he let out was one of pain and fear, and all of a sudden everything seemed too big and awful. He collapsed to his knees and crawled under the small space under his desk, curling up and rocking as much as he could in some effort to soothe himself. He could feel his mind slipping again; it was as though he were seeing the world through a child’s eyes, every little shadow a savage creature out to get him, every nook hiding some ferocious beast. He cried, and cried, and cried, and he squeezed his eyes shut, blocking everything out and wishing it would all go away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> remember to tell me if there are any plot holes/grammar/spelling mistakes!! thanks!! ^w^


	3. when you look at me and smile

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tim hears crying from Jon's office, and goes to investigate. Jon finally gets some cuddles. The archives staff now have an upset little on their hands.
> 
> Chapter title from 'UWU' by Chevy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hiiiii sorry this is a week late my sense of time is nonexistent ;-;
> 
> hopefully the cuddles in this chapter will make up for the lateness!!

Tim was minding his own business, doing some follow up on an obviously fake statement when there was a loud thud from Jon’s office, accompanied by some muffled noises that sounded suspiciously like crying.

“Uhhhh… I might have to call you back,” Tim said quickly into the phone.

“Hey, wh-” the other person managed to say before he hung up on them, slamming the phone down and standing up.

At the sound of this, Sasha and Martin both turned to him.

“Sounds like he’s fallen again,” Sasha said sympathetically, spinning around on her chair. “I’m worried about him. He’s been… weird, these past few days.”

Martin made a noise of agreement, and Tim nodded. Ever since last week, Jon had been acting strange. Martin had reported that whenever he brought him tea, Jon had been staring into the distance, mostly unresponsive and trembling slightly. And whenever Tim or Sasha had tried to check in on him, he had snapped at them, and an angry Jon was not fun to deal with.

“Alright, I’m going in,” Tim stated, breaking the brief silence that had befallen them. He headed over to the door, then knocked a couple times.

“You alright in there, Jon?”

The only response was a louder sob, and he quickly pushed the door open. The first thing he noticed was that Jon wasn’t in his chair; that was to be expected, as he’d likely fallen. It must’ve hurt him a lot of he was crying so much. Tim cautiously moved forward, and peered over the desk like he’d done just a few days ago. From underneath, Jon’s elbow could be seen poking out, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

He rounded the desk and crouched down, reaching out to put a hand on Jon’s shoulder.

“Are you okay?” he murmured, gaze softening at the vulnerable and innocent look Jon gave him. The other man whimpered in response, chewing gently on his knuckle.

…Okay, this was weird. Typically, Jon was the picture of professionalism, even more so after being promoted to Head Archivist. Maybe he hadn't fallen, and was instead having some sort of breakdown? It would certainly explain his mannerisms over the past few days.

He decided to ignore the strangeness of it all - Jon was clearly distressed, and the best thing he could do right now was provide comfort.

Tim opened his arms for a hug, not particularly expecting Jon to accept - but, to his surprise, the other man stared at him in amazement before rushing towards him and clinging onto him like a koala. For a moment, he was stunned. This was Jon, who avoided any sort of affection like a prickly cactus cat, now snuggled in his arms and tucking his head into Tim’s shoulder, still sniffling.

Tim wrapped his arms around Jon, lifting him up onto his hip as he stood and swaying gently.

“Shhhh, shhhh, it’s okay,” he whispered, now choosing to bounce instead of sway. “It’s okay, baby, I’m here now, yeah?”

He didn’t particularly mean for the pet name to slip out, but Jon didn’t seem to take much notice, instead gnawing on Tim’s shirt and shuffling a little closer.

It took probably another ten minutes or so of Tim bouncing Jon like a baby, murmuring reassurances all the while, for Jon’s breathing to finally even out - all the crying must've tired him out quite a bit. Tim let out a sigh of relief, as his legs were getting rather sore.

As quickly and quietly as he could, he crept back to the door, squinting as he stepped out into the harsh light of the archives. Jon grumbled a little, but remained asleep.

His return caught the attention of Sasha and Martin, who were now both staring at him - or, more specifically, their boss, who was snuggled in Tim's arms.

"Ah. I think we may need to have a little chat with Jon."

* * *

The low murmur of voices woke Jon up from his nap. He opened his eyes, blinking away sleep to see Tim, Sasha and Martin speaking in frantic hushed whispers beside him. Jon himself was currently seated in Sasha's fancy swivel chair, curled up with a knuckle in his mouth.

He let out a soft whine, reaching out and making grabby hands towards the others. Why weren't they cuddling him? Didn't they know he would want cuddles?

Instead of rushing over like he expected them to, they simply stared at him. Jon huffed in frustration, whimpering again and reaching out further.

Martin seemed to finally take the hint, cautiously stepping close enough for Jon to grab his sweater and pull him closer.   
“Up!” Jon demanded, but Martin merely stared in response.

“Jon, are you alright?” Sasha said, nudging Martin out of the way to give him a concerned look. But- why wouldn’t he be alright? The only problem here was the lack of cuddles, and he was getting rather impatient now.

“UP.”

He huffed, wriggling around in his chair and folding his arms in frustration. Then he pouted, feeling tears start to well up in his eyes. Had he done something wrong? Was this some sort of punishment? But- surely he hadn’t done anything to deserve being ignored! Trying to remember anything from the past few days made his head hurt and feel all squiggly, and he threw out his arms again in a last desperate attempt for cuddles.

“P-pwease?” he choked out, lip trembling as tears began to flow down his cheeks.

"Oh, shit," Sasha muttered, hastily crouching down and shushing him as she switched to a softer tone. "Hey, it's alright, it's alright, don't cry. What happened, Jon? Has someone hurt you? You're not acting like yourself."

Jon wiped his eyes on his sleeve.

"I- I wan cuddles. Pwease. 'M sowwy," he whined, curling in on himself a little. He nearly started crying again with relief when Sasha opened her arms and pulled him closer.

He let out a tiny happy noise, tucking his chin over her shoulder and wrapping his arms round her as best he could from his position on the chair. Tim and Martin had wandered a small way away, and were throwing not-so-subtle glanced towards him every now and again. He merely waved at them, now grinning broadly. Martin turned red when he did that. It was quite funny to watch.

After a minute or so of cuddles, Sasha pulled away, gently placing both her hands on his shoulders to look him in the eye.

"Jon," she started, pausing for a moment to think. "How old are you right now?"

...Huh. He wasn't quite sure.

Jon kicked his legs a little, chewing on his lower lip thoughtfully before holding up two fingers, then three, then back to two again. He wasn't sure why his age was important, but Sasha smiled at him so it was all good.

"Well done, love," she told him, still smiling, and he giggled a little as she booped him on the nose. "Can you sit here while I go and talk to Martin and Tim? I'll just be a minute, I promise."

Jon pouted at this, but nodded his head. After all, he didn't want to be too needy. He knew how annoying he could be at times.

Sasha stood up, ruffling his hair a little before heading off to talk to the others. He strained to listen, but got bored after a moment and slumped down into the chair, spinning slowly around. When that got boring too, he curled up into a ball and began gently chewing on his knuckle again. The gesture was comforting, and it wasn't long before he nodded off into the most peaceful sleep he'd ever had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really need to stop ending chapters on Jon falling asleep oops-
> 
> once again sorry for the delay, I've decided to try and release chapters weekly but I wasn't really feeling motivated ;-;
> 
> also!! I actually wrote the Tim scene a while ago and decided to make the rest of this fic based on it, though the original draft was very different - if anyone's interested I'll be more than happy to share it!


	4. now I’m gonna show you how much I love you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This one is just pure fluff. Snuggles are had and Jon is babey

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title from Zero Percent by My Chemical Romance.
> 
> ohhh this one's soft,,, ohohoo this is my favourite so far ^w^

The second Sasha turned away from Jon, her smile dropped. Tim looked at her eagerly, face twisting into a grimace as he saw her expression. Martin was wringing his hands nervously; it was clear that they were both concerned about Jon.

“How is he?” Martin murmured, seeing Jon already asleep again. “Any idea what’s wrong with him?”

Sasha hesitated for a moment.

“It’s… a bit complicated. Um, he thinks he’s about two years old. It’s- it’s a coping mechanism, he basically just thinks he’s a kid. He probably super stressed and regressed to a younger age to escape it, y’know?”

"It is permanent?" Tim queried, briefly glancing at Jon's sleeping form on the chair. "He seems... peaceful, for now."  
  
"Not permanent, no. It'll probably last for the rest of the day, at least, maybe longer depending on his stressed he is."  
  
"You seem to know an awful lot about this."  
  
"My cousin does it, I had to take care of her a couple times. Apparently her therapist suggested it," Sasha replied with a shrug.  
  
The three of them stood there awkwardly for a moment, not quite sure what their next steps would be.  
  
"Sooo..." Martin began. "What do we do now? Are we supposed to just- just leave him like this?"

Jon then chose that moment to wake up, yawning and blinking sleep from his eyes. As the three assistants turned to face him, his eyes lit up with joy and he began to wriggle a little, once again reaching out.

This time, Sasha was quick to react. She crouched down in front of him, cooing softly and quickly scooping him up to rest on her hip. He wrapped his arms and legs around her, seemingly content to tuck his face into the crook of her shoulder.  
  
"Right," she began, addressing the other two with authority. "Martin, I need you to go get a mug of warm milk for Jon."  
  
He nodded, quickly scurrying off to the breakroom where the milk was located.  
  
"Tim, see if you can find some blankets and pillows, we're going to set up somewhere for Jon to be comfortable. I'm not letting him hurt his back any more than he already has."  
  
"On it," Tim grinned, giving her a salute in his ever-dramatic fashion. That just left her alone with Jon, who was currently trying to chew her hair.  
  
"Ah, ah, ah," she tutted, pulling his face away gently. "No biting, Jon, that's not nice."  
  
She got some sort of babbled nonsense in response, to which she nodded thoughtfully, pretending to understand.  
  
"That's a very good point, pumpkin. Do you want to sit down while we wait for Tim and Martin to come back?"  
  
"Pum'kin!" Jon giggled, ignoring the question. It seemed he was rather fond of the nickname, Sasha mused, as he looked up at her with a toothy grin. She couldn't remember ever seeing Jon so happy and relaxed, and she felt a pang of sympathy for him. He always seemed so lonely, holed up in his office and refusing every offer to hang out with his assistants. At least they now all had an excuse to interact with him without talking about work, even if the situation was a little unusual. 

"Abababbbababaaabab!" Jon babbled excitedly as Tim returned, struggling under the weight of multiple thick blankets as well as what looked like sofa cushions. He dumped them down in the middle of the floor, arranging them into a somewhat organised little area for Jon. He stood back up when he was done, beaming at Sasha as he came over.  
  
"Boom. One pillow pile for Jon, done and dusted."  
  
The man (boy? baby??) in question wiggled in Sasha's arms, and she set him down so he could toddle over to inspect Tim's handiwork. The sofa cushions had been arranged into a square, with two of the blankets laid over the top and another one piled into a heap in the corner as a chair. It was certainly a temporary solution - whoever Tim had nicked those cushions from would probably be rather upset sooner or later - but for now, it would do.  
  
It also seemed that Jon's fickleness was as strong as ever. He went round all the corners, meticulously tucking the blankets beneath the cushions to remove wrinkles. This got a chuckle out of Tim, which in turn caused Jon to fix him with a glare that was somehow both adorable and terrifying. When he was finally satisfied, Jon plonked himself down on the extra blanket, waving Tim and Sasha over with great enthusiasm.  
  
"After you, m'lady," Tim said with a flourish and a bow, and she put in a posh accent in response.  
  
"Ever the gentleman, Mr Stoker."  
  
Their dramatic little performance caused Jon to erupt in a fit of giggles, and they glanced at each other, smiling softly. This was the only time they had ever seen him properly laugh, more than just a little half-smile or brief nose-exhale-thing, and it really was heartwarming.  
  
The two of them settled down either side of Jon, who currently had this thumb in his mouth. That probably wasn't good for his teeth, but there wasn't anything else for him to use. Perhaps they'd have to get something for next time...  
  
Assuming there would be a next time, that is. When Jon was back to his normal self, he'd likely be mortified at the fact that he had actually shown emotions, and there was a rather large possibility that he would ignore them for the rest of time. Which, y'know, not great.  
  
Then the door slammed violently against the wall where Martin threw it open, panting slightly with wide eyes.  
  
"Elias is coming."  
  
Oh, fuck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oops! it's been two weeks again. tbh i think i'll probably just stick to a two-week posting schedule, i know the chapters aren't very long but i haven't been feeling very motivated recently y'know?
> 
> anyway sorry about the small cliffhanger, nothing too bad's gonna happen but y'know. it's elias. he's a nasty pasty >:(


	5. can you catch me when i'm falling down?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elias is a bastard. Then there's cuddles to make up for it :D
> 
> Chapter title taken from 'Someone Out There Loves You' by My Chemical Romance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hate Elias literally so much

Martin made his way to the break room kitchen as quickly as possible, not wanting to be separated from Jon for too long. Call him paranoid, but Jon was so innocent and vulnerable like this; what if something were to happen to him? What if he wandered off and got lost?? What if he somehow ended up in artefact storage and exploded??!!  
  
Though these were highly unlikely - he trusted Sasha, and knew she wouldn't let harm come to Jon - there was still a nagging sense of fear and doubt in the back of his mind. It felt as though some twisted creature was watching him from the shadows, multiplying every little bit of anxiety tenfold. The air felt thick around him, and Martin found himself struggling to breathe properly.  
  
He felt as though he were a dissected frog, being pulled apart and exposed from the inside out. The world seemed to spin for a moment, everything blurring in and out of focus before a hand clamped down in his arm and sent him hurtling back to reality.  
  
"Martin, are you quite alright?"  
  
Elias was stood in front of him, baring that face that was supposed to look concerned but instead just seemed smug. Martin pulled his arm away almost reflexively in disgust, head still spinning a little and stomach churning. Their 'double-boss', as Tim called him, was unsettling in the same way an old painting was, with eyes that seemed to stare at you no matter where you were in the room.  
  
"Martin?" Elias questioned again, now with a slightly amused expression, and he realised he had been silent for the past minute or so.  
  
"Um- yes, I'm fine. Absolutely perfect, nothing happening in the archives whatsoever," he stammered out. "Mhm, yup. Everything's peachy. In fact, I was just going to make some tea. Can't do work if you're thirsty, haha."  
  
Martin cringed internally. That was the most suspicious-sounding thing he had ever said. I mean, it wasn't like anything was going _wrong,_ per se, but the head archivist being stuck with the mind of a child and therefore getting no work done wasn't really something you'd want the big boss to know.  
  
"Well," Elias stated, once again snatching Martin out of his thoughts. "I actually came down here to check up on Jon -"  
  
A bolt of fear spread through Martin. Oh god, this was not gonna end well.  
  
"- just thought I'd see how he's getting on. I know that this job can be terribly stressful, especially for someone so... _small._ "  
  
Did he know? Did he know that Jon had regressed to a smaller age????  
  
It was too late to ask, as Elias had already begun to walk in the direction of the archives. Shit shit SHIT.  
  
"I'll go tell the others that you're coming!" he burst out, speedwalking past the double boss then sprinting as soon as he was out of sight.  
  
He burst through the door, out of breath and with a panicked look in his eyes.  
  
"Elias is coming."  
  
Tim and Sasha stared up at him from some sort of pillow pile, wearing matching expressions of horror. Jon was obliviously curled between them, but looked up as Martin came into the room, quickly shutting the door behind him.  
  
Tim scrambled to his feet, glancing over at the door every two seconds. Jon let out a whine at the loss, but Sasha shushed him and quickly pulled him to his feet. She turned to Martin, nudging Jon over to him.  
  
"Martin, take him into his office. Me and Tim will try and distract Elias, we'll tell him Jon's sick or something."  
  
"But-"  
  
"Go, quick!"  
  
Martin grabbed Jon's hand, then quickly changed his mind and scooped him up instead. The other seemed to sense the urgency of the situation, as he remained silent while he was carried into his office.  
  
"Jon," Martin murmured. "I need you to keep on being very, very quiet for a while, okay? You're doing very well. We need to make sure Elias doesn't hear us, because he probably won't like you being small at work."  
  
Jon opened his mouth a little, letting out a small noise of discontent.  
  
"Am bad?" he whimpered. "Don' wanna be tol' off."  
  
"No, no, shhhh, it's okay. You've done nothing wrong, it's not your fault-"  
  
The door creaked open, and Martin froze.  
  
"Ah, hello again, Martin. Nice to see Jon here as well."  
  
Elias. Fuck fuck fuck, Tim and Sasha's distraction must not have worked.  
  
"Uh- Jon's sick right now," Martin said, edging towards the door that led down to the back room. "I was just taking him out of his office, he's rather exhausted."  
  
Jon went limp in his arms, feigning a sniffle and letting out a small groan as he tucked his face into Martin's jumper. A surprisingly convincing (and adorable) act, but Elias didn't buy it.  
  
"Now, Jon, don't be dramatic. Martin, I'm aware you and the other assistants have some sort of... predicament, as it were, with Jon reading a Leitner and all..."  
  
The rest of his words were lost on Martin, as he was too focused on the fact that this wasn't just a stress response - this was a Leitner's doing, and Elias had known this whole time. The fucker had probably waited to tell them so he could look smarter or something. Maybe it was just to be a bastard, who knows.  
  
He zoned back in again at Jon's slight whine, tugging on his jumper.  
  
"...really, it's his own fault for being so careless. Jon, you've messed up rather a lot, I'm afraid."  
  
Martin held back the urge to snap at Elias for being so cruel, as it probably wouldn't do him any good. But it hurt to see Jon with tears filling his eyes again. Poor little guy was probably blaming himself, as he was prone to doing. If anything, Elias was to blame for overworking him - it was a known fact that Jon kept working even at home, as much as he tried to hide it.  
  
...You know what? Maybe he could yell at Elias a little bit. As a treat.  
  
"Alright, that's enough, we get it!" he snarled, tucking Jon closer to his chest. "He's obviously upset, and you're not doing him any favours here. Now fuck off back to your stupid spooky office, you wanker!"  
  
Elias looked taken aback, staring at Martin for a moment before promptly turning around and leaving, presumably to his aforementioned stupid spooky office.  
  
He let out a sigh of relief before quickly turning his attention to the little in his arms. Jon was looking up at him with wide eyes, lip trembling slightly as held back tears.  
  
"'M sowwy, been bad. Can help. Pwomise."  
  
Martin's heart ached at that.  
  
"No, little one, it's okay. You haven't been bad, Elias is just a stinky old meanie. You don't need to listen to him. Not anymore. Sasha, Tim and I are here to take care of you, alright? No one's gonna hurt you again, we'll make sure of that."  
  
Jon let out a loud sob, burying his face in Martin's chest and clinging on for dear life. Had anyone ever told him that before, he wondered? Had anyone ever given sweet little Jon the care and attention he needed?  
  
Either way, Martin held him through it, raising a finger to his lips as Tim and Sasha slipped inside the room and making soft shushing noises to help calm him down.  
  
The little's cries eventually tapered off into sniffles, then stopped completely. Jon wiped his eyes, looking up at him as if he'd hung the moon and stars.  
  
"Love chu, dada," he whispered.  
  
Martin stood there stunned. He had been officially dubbed as 'dada' by Jon!!  
  
"I'm dada?" he murmured back, grinning all the while.  
  
"Uh-huh!"  
  
Out of the corner of his eye he could see Tim and Sasha looking at him with a mixture of jealousy and awe, and he stuck his tongue out at them (very mature, I know). For now, he was content to just hold Jon, letting him know that he was safe and well and truly loved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry about the angst there BUT there's cuteness to make up for it!! and some Martin POV!! because i love him!!!! also this chapter is slightly longer yay!!!


End file.
